Filing device



S. E. TROUT.

FILING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21. I917.

Patented Jan. 20,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- S. E. TROUT.

FILING DEVICE.

10 F D JUNE Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1 #Wnesses w l I 6 8/ \mmullm Aim. m m @Wt SILAS EDGAR TROUT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

FILING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

Application filed June 21, 1917. Serial No. 176,048.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SrLAs EDGAR TROUT, a citizen of the United States, residingat Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia.

and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Filing Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention comprises an improved filing device. It is a development of the forms which are set forth in U. S. patents to me numbered 1,216,017, dated February 13, 1917, and 1,221,631, dated April 3, 1917, respectively.

Vhile it is of general application, it lends itself especially for use as a unit in a filing system of the general type set forth in Patent No. 1,224,976, issued to me on May 8, 1917.

It is contemplated, among other objects, to produce a filing device capable of retaining the filable matter in a segregated arrangement and preferably in vertical position, it being found that in this way, there is no lapping over of the papers, etc.., and consequently the matters are much more easily inserted and removed, and with less damage in the way of wear and tear.

In furtherance of another object of the invention, the device is arranged in unit form, and provision is made for moving it about readily from place to place. In this way it may be placed beside a typewriter for the reception of general correspondence, or moved into place to take loose leaf accounting, billing, invoicing, and the like, at vari ous departments or desks devoted to these matters. It may also be moved bodily into a vault, or removed from the truck and made a part of a filing cabinet as conditions require.

To render the contents dust, fire and vermin proof, a cover arrangement is effected which provides for locking, and when open serves also in the capacit of shelves. These, together with other 0 jects and advantages Will in part be apparent, and in part be brought out in the description which follows.

Drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, are appended as a part hereof, the following views being shown Figure 1, is a View in front elevation;

Fig. 2, is a transverse section thereof;

Fig. 3, is a side elevation of a portion;

Fig. l, is a top plan view, the cover being open, and a portion of one lid being broken away;

Fig. 5, is a detail view in perspective; and Fig. 6, is a detail view in section.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral 7 designates a filing device unit or receptacle, and S, a wheeled truck or carrier for the same.

The filing device 7 comprises side members 9, end portions 10, and a bottom 11 joined to form a receptacle. The sides have portions bent inwardly, and carried downwardly in spaced relation to the sides, then bent back into engagement therewith, such portions being designated by the numeral 12. These portions are provided with slots 13, preferably arranged vertically therein and in spaced relation one to another on oppositely disposed portions of the sides, for the purpose of forming a supportor retainers for spacers 14. This forms a simple and efficient means for retaining spacer elements in vertical arrangement, and consequently filable matter which may be inserted between these spacers.

A cover is provided, preferably formed in sections, and each section comprising a side portion 15 and a top portion 16. The side portions are pivotally secured at their inner edges as by pins 17 journaled in the ends of the receptacle, and are each provided with an angularly extended portion 18. These extensions bear directly against the sides of the receptacle when the cover is closed as shown in Fig. 2, and may also be used as holding means for the receptacle when it is made a part of a permanent filing case, or stored on racks.

The top portion of each section is hingedly connected to the side portion, the arrangement being such that when in open position, the top sections will be at approximately right angles to the side portions, thus serving as shelves. The hinge means for producing this effect are designated by the nu meral 18.

Means are provided for locking the cover, and to this end one of the sections has, at its free end an angulated portion 19, adapted to take into a depression in a keeper 20, the general form of which may be seen best in Fig. 2. There i a keeper at each end of the receptacle disposed on a ridge 21 formed on each end section. The other portion of the top section is adapted to overlap the corresponding section which has the angulated portion 19, and be held in locked relationfo the end portions by means of rods 22, pivoted in the outer ends of a toggle 23, actuated by a handle These rods work in guides 25 at their outer ends, and one of the rods may be provided with a collar 26', back of which a bolt 26 of a lock 27 is adapted to engage, as best seen in Fig. 6. The lock has a keyway 28 extending through the front ortion of the receptacle, and an identification-bearing instrim'ientality 29 is preferably disposed on the same face thereof.

Handle 80 are provided, one at each end of the box, for the purpose of lifting it about readily, and the entire unit is provided with a means for retaining it in a definite position with relation to a desk or the like, and for carrying or transporting it about readily, such means having been referred to previously by numeral 8. This comprises a truck or the like having a supporting frame 31 formed from angle lron,

and supported upon standards 82, oined by brace members 38, and having wheeled casters 3d. The manner in which the box is retained on this truck is clearly shown on Figs. 2 and 3.

The provision of the slots, and the special formation of the sides, constitute a simple and eflicient means of retaining spacers in vertical arrangement, and likewise the filable matter which may be inserted therebetween. The provision of the cover and look ing means minimizes dust, insures privacy, and aids materially in fire proof storage. By arranging the boxes in unit form and providing a carrier of the type disclosed, the devices may be placed to a variety of uses within latitudes adapted to vary with the conditions under which it may be desired to use them.

'While the invention has been disclosed in the embodiment herein illustrated, it will be understood that it is not limited to the particular form set forth, as many changes in the construction and general arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the principles of the invention or sacrificing its chief advantages.

What I claim is 1. A filing device comprising side, end, and bottom sections joined to form a receptacle; and a plurality of inwardly and downwardly projecting members on certain of said sections, to constitute retainers for spacer elements.

2. A filing device comprising side, end,

and bottom sections joined to form a receptacle; a plurality of inwardly and downwardly projecting members on certain of said sections to constitute spacer retainers; and spacers disposed in said retainers.

3. A filing device comprising side, end, and bottom sections joined to form a receptacle; a plurality of inwardly and clownwardly projecting members on certain of said sections to constitute spacer retainers; and a cover instrumentality on certain of said sections.

a. A filing device comprising side, end, and bottom sections joined to form a receptacle; a plurality of inwardly and downwardly projecting portions on certain of said sections; said port-ions being in spaced relation to said sides and to each other, to constitute retainers for spacers; and spacers retained thereby.

A filing device comprising side, end, and bottom sections joined to form a receptacle; spacer retaining members disposed on certain of said sections; spacers retained thereby; and cover instrmnentalities comprising sections; a portion of each section being pivotally connected to one of said receptacle sections; and another portion of each section being arranged to open at approximately right angles to the first mentioned portion, to constitute a shelf when in open position.

6. A filing device con'iprising sections joined to form a receptacle, certain of said sections carrying portions extended inwardly in spaced relation to the sides to constitute retainers for spacer elements.

7. A filing device comprising sections joined to form a receptacle, certain of said sections carrying portions extended inwardly in spaced relation to the sections and to each other to constitute retainers for spacer elements.

8. A filing device comprising sections joined to form a receptacle, certain of said sections carrying portions extended inwardly in spaced relation to the sections and to each other and then downwardly and back into proximity to the sections to constitute retainers for spacer elements; and a cover instrumentality associated with these sections and adapted to constitute a shelf when in open position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SILAS EDGAR TROUT. Witnesses E. E. Tnoo'r, I. M. H. G'NAU. 

